Parker



Feb. 12, 1952 K. PARKER 2,585,675

I DRAIN VALVE Filed May 18, 1950 za-- A Z? /z /9 g i 1 UN /4 Z9 I INVENTOR I -ffz'rilay' Par/her ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 12,1952

DRAIN *Kirtley Parker, rairani oig Fla,

Application May s, 1950, sem'a1 iv aoia 'ms. (or'rsjf-ig aii.

' 'I his inventionrelates to a --=draln valvefortfluid :pressurersystems. V

1 'T'Influid pressuresystems,.particularlywhere air' isaused as therfluid, a main pressure tank is :pro-

vided, and it is .usualior fluids such as water or oil, to collectin the main tank. In air brake systemssuch as are used on buses, trucks or the like,

his the practice to-open the manual drainwvalves each night or at stated periods so as to drain any condensate which has collected in the main tank. It is an object of this invention to provide a drain valve which is automatic in its operation and is active to drain any liquids from a tank after the pressure in the tank has been reduced toa predetermined degree. The valve herein disclosed is spring biased to an open position and is moved to a closed position by pressure from the tank. A valve constructed according to this invention can be easily and quickly applied and will not require any attention to effect operation thereof.

The drain valve herein disclosed may also be used in other pressure systems such as air separators, paint spray guns and Diesel engines.

W th the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a detailed side elevation of a pressure tank interposed in a fluid pressure system such as an air brake system having an automatic drain valve constructed according to an embodiment of this invention secured thereto.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the drain valve.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates generally a pressure tank interposed in an air pressure system such as an air brake system having an inlet II and an outlet I3. In order to provide a means whereby the liquids accumulating by condensation or the like in the v tank I0 may be automatically drained, I have to be heldiont the seat I 9 pressure communicated to the housing I2 from thetank. Thaintermediate body I?! .is provided -with;a flared central portionv 21 ;-which forms with a complementaryflaredsurface 22 adrain chamber 23.

The flared suri-acet22 is formed on the lower side I ;of .a headl24 whichihas extending fromtheupper ,side \thereof :a ,boss :25 ;formed withat least apair of flat surfaces 26 for engagement by a wrench. The boss 25 is formed with a central opening 21 and a threaded nipple28 extends upwardly from the boss 25 and is adapted to be threaded into the lower portion of the tank I0.

The several parts I4, I1, and 24 which form the housing I2 are secured together by means of bolts 29. The ball valve 20 is constantly urged upwardly to a released and draining position by means of a spring 30 which engages about a tubular guide 3| threaded into the bottom wall I5 and projecting upwardly into the interior of the cylindrical wall I4. The spring 30 is of a tension such that when substantial air pressure is discharged into the tank I0 this pressure will force valve member20 downwardly onto the seat I9 so as to thereby close the outlet port I 8. sure in the tank or reservoir I0 has been reduced to a very substantial degree, spring 30 will raise valve 20 to a released position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 so that any liquids such as oil or condensate in the bottom of the tank II] will freely flow through the valve housing I2 and through the drain ports IS with a portion of the liquids also passing through the spring guide member 3|.

valve seat I 9. A ball valve 20 is adapted when in closed position to engage on the seat I9 and In the use and operation of this drain valve, where this valve is used in place of the manually operated drain valves, such manual valves are removed and the nipple 23 threaded into the drain opening of the tank I0. Where the drain I2 is connected to an air brake system such as.

on a bus or a truck and the air pressure in the brake system is relieved at the end of a run or the like, when the air pressure in tank I0 is re-' duced to a predetermined degree, spring 30 will raise valve 20 upwardly to an open position so that any liquids in the bottom of tank II! can freely drain out through the valve structure.

What is claimed is:

1. A drain valve comprising a valve housing formed of a cylindrical side wall, a bottom wall integral with said side Wall and formed with at least one drain opening, an intermediate wall engaging the upper end of said side wall, said intermediate Wall having a central port and a flared depression at the upper end of said port, a valve When air pres- 3 a seat formed about said port, a top wall engaging against said intermediate wall, said top wall having an upwardly offset recess confronting said depression and forming with the latter a valve chamber, bolts extending through said side, intermediate, and top walls detachably securing said walls together, a ball valve in said chamber engageable on said seat, a nipple extending upwardly from said top wall and communicating with said chamber, and a spring bearing at one end against said bottom wall and at the other end against said ball valve for normally holding said LY valve in open position.

2. A drain valve comprising a valve housing formed of a cylindrical side wall, a bottom wall integral with said side wall and formedwithat least one drain opening, an intermediate 'wall enigaging the upper end of said side wall, said intermediate wall having a central port and a fl'ared depression at the upperend of said port, av alve seat formed about said port, a top wall engaging against said intermediate wall,,said top wall having an upwardly offset recess confronting said depression and forming with the latter a valve chamber, means detachably securing said walls K together, a ball valve in said chamber engageable on said seat, a nipple extending upwardly from said top wall andcommunicating with said cham- REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the f le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS mb r 1 m Date 701,754 Moran June 3,1902 1,117,547 Beulke Nov. 1'7, 1914 1,359,988 Hensen Novj23, 1920 1,704,817 Ayers Mar. 12 ,'1929 1,935,285 Ayers Nov; 14,1933 2,541,282 Powers Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS.

Number. Country Date 4 14,685 Great Britain of 1901 

